A Journey Around The World In Northeast Kansas

The libraries in Atchison, Basehor, Bonner Springs, Lansing,
Leavenworth, Linwood and Tonganoxie hosted a journey around the world with “One
Book, Many Neighbors,” a community read initiative, as part of their “Universe
of Stories” adult summer reading program. The collaborative project successfully
brought together more than 50 patrons who might not have otherwise had the
opportunity to interact with one another.

Patrons received a passport for their trip to each library,
where they participated in a series of discussions and presentations inspired
by stories from the book One World: A
Global Anthology of Short Stories, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jhumpa
Lahiri and 21 other authors. The libraries chose an anthology because it
offered opportunities for a variety of presentations as well as invited patrons
to explore other cultures without having to read a long book.

The furthest travelling time between the libraries, from
Atchison to Linwood, is about an hour. The entire journey took place over seven
weeks in June and July. The planning process, however, took much longer. The seven
libraries started discussing ideas in the fall of 2018 after Jack Granath,
director of the Bonner Springs City Library, proposed the idea to other
directors at a Northeast Kansas Library System meeting. After the group decided
on the direction of the project, they met monthly to brainstorm ideas and give
updates on each library’s program.

Participants received a stamp on their passport at each
destination they visited, for which they earned an invitation to a special
celebration at the end of the journey and an opportunity to win prizes. Highlights
of each program:

Atchison: Thirty-eight
people attended a discussion of The
Kettle on the Boat by Vanessa Gebbe, a story about an Inuit family in a
remote Canadian wilderness and The
Volunteer by Lucinda Nelson Dhavan, about an American volunteering in a
poor village school in India. Dr. Julie Bowen, an English professor at
Benedictine College, led a spirited literary discussion of both stories. The
library served mango lassies and Indian finger food.

Leavenworth: Forty people
examined cultural diversity with The Way
of the Machete by Martin A. Ramos, about a boy and his father in the cane
fields of Puerto Rico, and Fireweed
by Skye Brannon, set in California with a West African immigrant who works for
a rich, white woman, each with a very different definition of fireweed. Diversity
consultant Gene Chávez, led the discussion. Three guests also shared their
stories: a woman from Liberia and another from Ghana who shared their journeys
as refugee immigrants, and a man from Puerto Rico, who discussed his childhood
experiences and his move to the U.S. Patrons enjoyed a traditional Ghanaian
rice dish and treats from Puerto Rico.

Lansing: Forty-five
patrons discussed Air Mail by Ravi
Mangla, about two young boys, one from the U.S., the other from India, who are
pen pals in a school project, and Maryanne
Clouds Today by Ivan Gabriel Rehorek, set in Australia. The spouse of an
Australian Army officer attending the Command and General Staff College at Fort
Leavenworth, spoke about her life in Australia compared to life in the U.S.
Patrons enjoyed some Australian bakery treats.

Bonner
Springs: Forty-eight people participated in a video chat with a
reader in South Africa named Murry, who stayed up until after midnight to
participate in the program. She read Porcelain
by Henrietta Rose-Inness, set in South Africa about a woman who collects pieces
of porcelain to alleviate her anxieties, and The Rich People’s School, about a young girl in Botswana who is
sent to a school she doesn’t want to attend. The library served a traditional
South African tea with malva pudding, milk tart, Ouma rusks (a dry hard
biscuit) and Cronat Gold coffee, an instant coffee popular in South Africa.

Basehor: Fifty-seven
patrons discussed the story The Third and
Final Continent by Jhumpa Lahiri, about the struggles of an immigrant from
India after arriving in the U.S. Following the discussion, Janell N. Avila of
the Solorio & Avila Immigration Law Firm, gave a presentation about legal
immigration today, followed by Deepti Srinivasan, a local immigrant living in
the Kansas City area, who shared her personal immigration experiences.

Linwood: Nineteen
people participated in a discussion of Nellie
by Vanessa Barbara, a story set in Brazil from One World Two: A Second Global Anthology of Short Stories. Patrons
then put together ingredients for a Brazilian banana cake they could bake at
home.

Tonganoxie: Fifty-one
patrons listened to Travis Slankard read Ashwari’s
Children by Nadya Shabnam, about a family in Bangladesh who attempts to
control the lives of poor people living on its land. The story’s author joined
the discussion from San Francisco via Skype. Patrons enjoyed traditional
Bangladeshi food that included Nimki, Bombay Mix, Banana Ball Fritters and
green mango tea.

Fifty patrons and their families attended the final
celebration held at Cider Hill Family Orchard, which is located midway between
all of the libraries. The libraries shared the expenses for the venue, the
caterer and a band. Each library also provided a gift basket worth $75. A few
libraries donated some extra door prizes. Patrons who attended three or more of
the programs were eligible to enter a drawing for the gift baskets; everyone
who attended was eligible for the extra door prize drawings.

Based on patrons’ survey responses, they want to participate
in other programs like this in the future. They especially liked the
opportunity to visit the other libraries, the ability to read each story in a
short amount of time and the variety of programs each library presented.

The group of seven libraries will be presenting a session at
the Kansas Library Association Conference in October on how they worked
together on this successful community read initiative.